


Don't Assume (It Makes an Ass Out of U and Me)

by wearingsunlight98



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Awesome Leia, Awkward Tension, BAMF Leia Organa, But Fortunately Finn Isn't, Canon Era, Canon Universe, Drunk Poe Dameron, Drunken Confessions, Drunken Flirting, First Kiss, Friends to Lovers, Gay Poe Dameron, Getting Together, Leia is So Done with Poe, M/M, Oblivious Finn (Star Wars), POV Alternating, Pilot Poe Dameron, Poe Dameron Is A Mess, Poe Dameron/Finn Fluff, Sweet, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-08
Updated: 2020-03-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:41:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23054128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wearingsunlight98/pseuds/wearingsunlight98
Summary: "Liquid Courage"? Nah. More like "Liquid Mortification."Or: Poe has one too many drinks and lets something slip, and Finn reminds him what happens when you assume things.Alternative Title: A Bottle a Day Keeps You From Keeping Your Mouth Shut and Makes You Want to Die of Embarrassment
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Finn
Comments: 6
Kudos: 129





	Don't Assume (It Makes an Ass Out of U and Me)

**Author's Note:**

> The term _grounded_ in this fic refers to a spacecraft being literally grounded -- aka the pilot is prohibited from flying until further notice. The fic doesn't really have a specific place in the Canon timeline (just sometime after Finn wakes up), so you can fit it in wherever you want. POV starts with Poe but ends up switching over to Finn. It sort of happened unconsciously, but I was too lazy to do anything about it and anyway I don't think it takes away from the story or anything...
> 
> And yes, I used the vocab page on Wookieepedia for all of my slang. Check it out here:  
> https://starwars.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_phrases_and_slang
> 
> This is my first Finn/Poe fic! Kudos, comments, and constructive criticism appreciated <3

“POE DAMERON!!!” Leia’s eyes were murderous as they caught sight of him coming out of the hangar. Poe froze, eyes widening; behind him, Jess snickered.  
“Good luck with that,” she muttered under her breath, then split off towards the mess hall.  
Poe watched her go, silently cursing her for abandoning him, then turned back toward Leia only to find that--  
“Son of a bantha--”  
“Don’t even pretend to be startled by me!” --she was, at this point, only about a foot away from him; the sudden proximity had startled him, despite what the General thought.

Poe held up his hands in a placating gesture. “General, I can explain--”  
“You damn well better, Poe. That was a _disgrace_.”  
“Hey, I didn’t kill anyone!”  
“What do you want, a gold star? You nearly destroyed five ships!”  
Poe hesitated, tongue poking the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “Oops?”  
“Mother of moons,” Leia muttered exasperatedly. Her eyes darted away in a slight roll, then quickly came back to the pilot in front of her. “I’m serious, Poe. What the hell were you thinking?”  
“Ma’am, it was a training exercise. Don’t you think that’s an appropriate time for taking risks?”  
“ _No,_ it’s an appropriate time for practicing things you would _actually do_ in an _actual battle._ If you wanna take risks, you can do it on your own time, and you can do it in a place where the damage can be kept to a minimum!”  
The pilot ducked his head, feeling properly chastised. “My apologies, General. It won’t happen again.”  
“No, it will not, because you’re grounded--”  
“ _What?_ ”  
“You heard me. And if I so much as see you _breathe_ in the direction of this hangar, so help me gods, I will gut you like a ghest.”

Poe felt his jaw tic; he was pissed, but he knew better than to argue. He swallowed his protest, then gave a strained “Yes, ma’am.”  
Leia huffed. “Alright." She paused, as if deciding whether or not to continue; after a few seconds, she did. "I think Finn’s looking for you...something about a new holo-whatever.”  
Poe perked up a bit, although not much -- he’d just lost his flying privileges, after all. “Is it the new holo-vid release?”  
“I don’t know, something like that.” She gave him another once over, then jerked her head in the direction of the barracks. “You’re dismissed.”  
Poe took off running without another word.

*****

“There you are,” Finn said, glancing up at the sound of Poe entering his bunk. “What took--”  
“I’ve been grounded,” Poe grumbled inaudibly as he threw himself onto the bunk.  
Finn’s eyebrows shot up; the man before him was a far cry from the highly-energized pilot he’d seen earlier that morning. “Sorry, what--”  
“I’VE BEEN GROUNDED,” Poe reiterated, almost yelling as he emphasized each word.  
Finn’s eyebrows now scrunched in confusion. “Why--”  
“I don’t wanna talk about it.”

Finn watched with faint amusement as Poe crossed his arms and pouted. “Alright then,” he answered, tone neutral as he turned back to the datapad in his lap.  
After several minutes of nothing but the sound of Finn’s fingers tapping the screen, Poe huffed and sat forward. “Leia said you wanted to show me something?”  
“Sure,” Finn replied without looking up. “But only if you’re done acting like a child.”  
“I’m not acting like a child!”  
Finn slowly dragged his eyes up to meet Poe’s. “Really?” he asked incredulously, his tone flatter than Tatooine.  
The pilot glared. The ex-trooper blinked lazily. “Is that supposed to scare me?”  
“Oh, kriff off!” Poe snapped. His ability to tolerate any more sass was thinner than ice.

Finn took a deep breath, held it, then exhaled slowly. The other man was upset, that much was kriffin' obvious. He'd hoped, when he’d first picked up on Poe’s bad mood, that the usual banter would be enough to make it dissipate. Clearly, he’d been wrong -- it was time for a gentler tactic.  
“Hey,” he said softly. He reached out and skimmed a knuckle on Poe’s knee. “We good?”  
Poe closed his eyes slowly as he took a calming breath. During those fleeting seconds, as his head tipped back and his eyelashes fluttered atop the rounds of his cheeks, Finn couldn’t help but marvel at how lovely he looked. The long, India-ink lashes; the rubescent cheeks; the wild, unruly curls...and okay, yes, his mouth. It was impossible not to notice. Perpetually reddened by his constant lip-biting, it was quite possibly the feature that gave Finn the most trouble.

He blinked, trying to get his thoughts back in order, and realized that Poe still hadn’t said anything.  
“Poe?” he asked, and his knuckle resumed its feathery movement across Poe’s kneecap.  
The man swallowed, exhaled slowly, and nodded. “Yeah,” he rasped. His throat felt scratchy. “Just...frustrated. You know how I get when Leia benches me.”  
Finn’s lips quirked. “Yeah. I do.”  
“But it’s my fault. I was reckless. She was right to do it, I just...you know. Don’t like admitting I’m wrong.”  
The former stormtrooper chuckled. “Ain’t that the kriffin’ truth,” he replied, giving the other a wry smile.  
“Anyway,” Poe went on, brightening his tone. “What were you gonna show me?”

*****

Poe was drunk. Definitely and unquestionably drunk. Finn could tell just by looking at him, even from all the way across the mess hall. The way his arms flailed in big, sweeping gestures, coupled with the way he kept tipping into Pava (who, while not _quite_ inebriated, was definitely a few drinks past tipsy), was a clear indicator -- that, and the numerous empty bottles atop the table in front of him. Finn shook his head and smiled as he made his way over to the rest of the crew.  
As he stepped up to the table, Poe halted in the middle of whatever ridiculous tale he’d concocted for the night. “FIIIIINN!!!” he exclaimed with way more volume than Finn was prepared for. His face had split in a grin, and his eyes glittered with enthusiasm (they _may_ also have been slightly glassy from the booze, but who was Finn to judge?).

Finn smiled. “Hi, Poe.” He nodded at Jessika, who had raised her bottle at him, and bumped the fist that Snap had offered, before taking the seat across from Poe.  
“Nooooo,” the pilot immediately protested.  
“What?” asked Finn.  
“Come sit here, buddy. Right here,” Poe demanded, grinning and patting the sliver of space next to him.  
Finn arched a brow; there was absolutely no way he’d fit there. The bench was a bit roomy for two people, but with the way Jess and Poe were both sprawled across it, there definitely wasn’t room for a third. Finn said as much.  
“Whaddaya mean, you won’t fit? Course you will,” Poe asserted delusionally.  
“Yeah, maybe my left thigh, but not the rest of me,” Finn countered. He was trying not to laugh, but Drunk Poe was such a ridiculously adorable sight, he was having trouble keeping it in.  
“Nooooo,” the drunken man whined again.  
“Oh, for frag’s sake,” Jess said, rolling her eyes and hauling herself to her feet. “Finn, come sit down before this rocketjock starts crying.”  
Poe crossed his arms and huffed. “I don’t cry.”  
“The hell you don’t.”  
“I _don’t!_ ”  
“Okay, hotshot. Whatever you say.” She plopped down on the other side of the table next to Snap, who was too busy snickering into his bottle to do much of anything else.

By this time, Finn had made it around the table and sat down, careful not to squish any wayward fingers.  
Poe tipped his head back against the wall, facing Finn, and smiled dopily. “Hi.”  
Finn smirked. “Hello. How are you?”  
“Happier than a…than a…” Poe frowned as he trailed off, unable to come up with a suitable analogy. His brows furrowed in thought, tongue licking over his upper teeth.  
Finn pursed his lips, highly amused.  
Snap kept snickering.  
“Aaaaa…” Poe drawled, still unable to come up with a satisfactory answer.  
“Oh, dear gods,” Jess muttered, taking another swig of her drink.  
"Aaaaa..." Poe droned on.  
“Okay, moving on,” Finn cut in. “ Hey, Snap, how’s the-- Poe. What are you doing?”

Poe, for whatever reason (although probably involving the fact that he had a crate’s worth of alcohol in him), had apparently decided that poking Finn in the thigh repeatedly was next on his list of Entertaining Shit To Do. Finn, on the other hand, was not on board with this plan. In fact, he found it highly irritating.  
And also very distracting.  
“Poe.”  
A quick glance up. “Hm?”  
“Stop.”  
“When sarlaccs fly.”  
“ _Poe._ ” This was delivered in a much firmer, more adamant, tone -- aka, Finn’s Cut the Crap tone.  
“Or what, you’ll go all wookiee on me?”  
“I might.”  
“Grumpy old galoomp.”  
“Bite me.”  
Poe gave a wolfish grin. “Where?”  
Finn’s eyebrows shot clear off his forehead. “...Are you flirting with me?”

The table erupted.  
Jess: “AS IF YOU DON’T FLIRT BACK!!!”  
Snap: *loud obnoxious guffaw* “Oh, _Maker,_ that’s rich…”  
Poe: “Have been for the past year, but thanks for noticing.”  
Finn’s head, which had been turned in Jess’s direction so he could glare murderously at her, whipped back around to Poe. “Wait, _what?_ ”  
Poe’s eyes widened as the realization of what he’d just let slip slammed into him. “ _Kriff._ ”  
He then lurched to his feet and, somehow (despite the alcohol sloshing around in his veins), maintained his balance as he bolted from the room.  
The table was suddenly silent.  
“Okay then,” Snap finally said, turning to Finn. “Your move, man.”

*****

Finn decided not to say anything about it until morning. He figured Poe might appreciate the chance to regroup, get his thoughts in order...and maybe sober up a bit -- probably that, too. He decided he'd wait until after breakfast to approach Poe. He’d be awake, he’d have eaten (aka he wouldn’t be hangry), and hopefully he’d have burned off most of the embarrassment and wouldn’t turn tail and run as soon as he saw Finn.  
So, breakfast. Yeah.  
Finn wasn’t freaking out at all.

As he walked into the mess, he noticed the pilot sitting at the far end of the room. He was tempted to go over right then, anxious to make the tension humming in his bones dissipate. But he bit his lip, kept his feet where they were, and focused his attention on the business of getting food. Even so, he couldn’t help sneaking glances as he ate, eyes darting over to the corner to catch flashes of tan as Poe ran his hands through his riotous hair.  
And kriff, was it hard, keeping himself planted once Poe had finished eating and stood to leave. All Finn wanted to do was run after him and apologize (even though he knew he hadn’t done anything wrong). But patience was key, and he figured it'd probably be best _not_ to have this conversation in the middle of the breakfast crowd, so he watched in silence as Poe left the room and went back to finishing his own meal.  
He’d go looking for his friend once his plate was clean.

*****

Finn found him on one of the patrol balconies. He was leaning forward, weight on his elbows atop the wall, as he looked out at the vast sea of emerald before him. It was a beautiful view: trees for _miles,_ lush and vibrant and so, so clean. Finn inhaled deeply, letting the fresh air purify his lungs. After a few seconds of hushed silence, he stepped up to the wall next to Poe.  
“Are you sober?” he asked, letting a hint of soft, teasing amusement color his voice.  
Poe chuckled softly. “Moderately functional.”  
“I’ll take that as a no, then.” Finn gave him a teasing grin and gently bumped their shoulders together.  
There was another moment of quiet, before Poe took a deep breath and exhaled, slowly.  
“Um,” he began, voice soft. “I, uh...well. Part of me wants to apologize--”  
“Poe--”  
“No, just...just listen. Please.”

Finn nodded and kept quiet. Poe continued. “Part of me wants to apologize if I made you feel awkward. And also for running out on you and leaving you hanging. But I...you’re the most important person in my life. I mean, aside from Leia. Um. You -- you make me feel safe. And you make me laugh. And you're smart, kriff, you're so smart... But I don’t want my feelings to change anything between us. Just because you don’t feel the same way doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends, alright? I can control myself, I can -- I can keep it in check, I promise--” Poe was starting to get a bit frantic, fingers gripping the wall, and Finn couldn’t take it anymore.  
“Poe.” He reached over and placed his hand over the pilot’s. “What have I told you about assumptions?”  
Poe’s brows pinched in the middle; he blinked in confusion as Finn tried to loosen his grip on the stone. “What?”  
“You’re assuming I don’t feel the same way.”  
“Well -- you don’t.”  
Finn looked at Poe, gaze heavy with meaning. “Don’t I?”  
With that, he tipped up the pilot’s chin and kissed him.

*****

“How long?” Poe’s voice was hushed, more breath than sound. It hovered in the space between them, faces inches away from each other as they lay side-by-side on the grassy hill.  
Finn smiled. “Awhile. Not sure exactly when it started, but...not long after I woke up, I guess.” He remembered finding Poe in the hangar that day, his water suit leaking all over the place. It wasn’t long after that that he’d realized how he felt. It’d been this slow, gentle crawl toward the edge, until one day he just...tipped over -- and suddenly things were different.

Poe huffed a laugh, tinged with awe, and shook his head, curls dragging in the grass. “I can’t believe it.”  
“Why?” Finn asked.  
“I just…” He shrugged. “I don’t know. It just never crossed my mind as a possibility. I had sort of resigned myself to a lifetime of pining.” He was grinning, although Finn could see the sadness hovering at the edges. He wanted it gone.  
But he didn’t really know what to say, what the right words were, so instead he just rolled a bit closer -- close enough to rub his nose against Poe’s. It felt like velvet, numbing...it buzzed pleasantly under his skin.  
Poe sighed, content, lashes fluttering at the fuzzy feeling in his brain. Because sometimes you didn’t need words...  
Sometimes feeling was just enough.


End file.
